Abnormal neighborhood disturbance: law to limit conflicts related to noise or odor from rural farms

The bill proposed by Renaissance MP for Morbihan Nicole Le Peih must be finally voted on in the National Assembly on Monday, April 8, 2024.

Protecting farmers and their activities from complaints by local residents: this is the goal of the proposed law, which aims to adapt the law on civil liability to current issues, the final vote of which is on the agenda of the National Assembly on Monday, April 8, 2024, after its adoption by the Senate on April 3.

By defining the term “abnormal disturbance of the neighborhood”, the text hopes to reduce the conflicts that can oppose farmers and their neighbors, such as the case of this chicken farmer in Savoy, who was officially notified by a harassed neighbor at the end of 2023. by the noise of carnivorous breeding.

In 2022, the case of a cattle breeder from the Oise who was supposed to pay 100,000 euros to local residents bothered by the noise and smell of animals provoked a reaction from many farmers who condemned the phenomenon of agrobashing exposing the fantasies of recently settled urbanites. in nature.

The Minister of Justice himself promised a law to prevent these conflicts for farmers at the 2023 Agricultural Show, stating that “If you don’t like the countryside, you stay in the city, and if you go to the countryside, you adapt to the landscape that already exists.”.

A phenomenon difficult to quantify

Indeed, the draft law defines what is not an abnormal disturbance of the neighborhood based on three cumulative criteria: the activity must precede the arrival of the complainants, continue under the same conditions and be in accordance with the legislation.

If disputes between farmers and local residents ruffle the feathers of the profession and often cause a lot of ink to be spilled, they remain difficult to quantify. A report published under the so-called “Mauritius” law, named after this rooster on the island of Oléron considered too noisy, counts between 400 and 500 disputed cases, admitting that not all are linked to the countryside.

Does the text solve a fake problem? This is argued by some MPs, trade unions and researchers who fear that this definition of abnormal neighborhood disruption will allow the expansion of intensive agriculture and thus its pollution to continue.